this is bbc news i'm lewis vaughan jones. the headlines at 6pm. prince andrew says "at no stage" did he "see or suspect" any criminal behaviour that subsequently led to the arrest and conviction of disgraced financierjeffrey epstein. the prime minister has said he will urge president trump at the g7 summit not to escalate a trade war with china. the state of global trade, i'm very worried about the way it is going, the growth of protectionism of tariffs we are seeing. the uk thrives mightily on the open and outward—looking free trading nation, that is what we are going to be promoting. borisjohnson has also been warned against forever being known as "mister no—deal" over brexit. donald tusk also said the eu will not co—operate with leaving europe without an agreement. i still hope that prime minster

johnson would not like to go down in history as mr no—deal. brazil's president has bowed to international pressure and ordered the armed forces to tackle the record number of fires in the amazon forest. british airways is facing anger from thousands of passengers who've received emails to say their flights next month have been cancelled —— because of strikes by pilots over pay. and england's batsmen are fighting to keep their ashes hopes alive at headingley, where they're chasing an unlikely target of 359 to win.

prince andrew has released a statement about his friendship with the disgraced financier jeffrey epstein, the first time the prince has spoken directly about his links since epstein took his own life in a new york prison cell earlier this month. prince andrew said "at no stage" did he "see or suspect" any criminal behaviour. epstein had been awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges when he killed himself. here's our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. what was prince andrew doing at the home of a convicted paedophile in new york in 2010, peering out through the door as young women came and went? the questions about andrew's friendship withjeffrey epstein have shown no sign of abating — and so, from the prince today, a statement in which he says he is eager to clarify the facts. he states... i met mr epstein in 1999.

the prince goes on... andrew does acknowledge that it was, in his words, "a mistake and an error" to see epstein after his release from prison. this photograph of them together was taken in 2010. andrew expresses regret that what he knew of epstein was not, as he puts it, "the real person". and yet epstein's behaviour was a matter of public record. two years earlier, in 2008, he had been prosecuted for procuring an underage girl for prostitution. he was sentenced to 18 months in prison. but andrew was one of his friends, emerged, when this photo was published. it had been taken at one of epstein's parties in 2001. it showed andrew with a then—17—year—old girl — virginia roberts. andrew has always emphatically

denied any impropriety. in today's statement, the queen's second son expresses tremendous sympathy for all those affected by the actions and behaviour of his former friend, jeffrey epstein. earlier, nicholas said prince andrew will be hoping his statement clarifies his version of events. he asserts that between when he met epstein and when he was convicted there was no reason to suspect his behaviour, we have to take that at face value, paedophiles are notoriously secretive, but is more difficult is that he continue to see him after he was released from prison. the photographs and videos of them in 2010. he now says he acknowledges it was a mistake and an error to have done that, he regrets that he did not realise what kind of a man that jeffrey

that he did not realise what kind of a man thatjeffrey epstein really was. he also says in the statement that his suicide has left many u na nswered that his suicide has left many unanswered questions and that is undoubtedly true, and i acknowledge and sympathise with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure. what andrew does not say is whether he is now prepared to co—operate with the lawyers in america were trying to get to those a nswe i’s. boris johnson has hit back at donald tusk after the european council president said he hoped the prime minister wouldn't be remembered as "mr no deal". mr tusk was speaking in biarritz at the the g7 summit of world leaders. in response mrjohnson said mr tusk would earn the same title if he ignored the uk's demands. 0ur chief political correspondent vicki young is in biarritz — her report contains flashing images. landing for his first summit, and it could be a tense one. borisjohnson is determined to leave the eu but says britain won't be walking off the world stage. the prime minister wants to show he's got an important role to play

and has strong views on global trade. i'm very worried about the way it's going, the growth of protections, of tariffs that we are seeing. the uk thrives mightily on being an open, outward—looking, free—trading nation. that's what we're going to be promoting because i think it's good for the world. there is a lot on the g7 agenda here in biarritz, but right now for borisjohnson nothing is more important than brexit. can he persuade eu leaders to give him a new brexit deal? that's something brussels has said it won't do, even though parliament rejected the withdrawal agreement that theresa may negotiated. so is this man likely to help the prime minister? donald tusk famously said there was a special place in hell for those who promoted brexit without a plan. most saw that as an attack on mrjohnson. he will be the third british conservative prime minister with whom i will discuss brexit. the one thing i will not co—operate on is no deal.

and i still hope that prime ministerjohnson will not like to go down in history as mr no deal. all sides say they want a deal and everyone's keen to avoid the blame if it doesn't happen. downing street's playing down the chances of a breakthrough here in biarritz, but think angela merkel and emmanuel macron are ready for some meaningful conversations. borisjohnson insisted again today that the so—called backstop to avoid checks at the irish border must go, and donald tusk should remember that if he doesn't want to go down as mr no deal brexit. mrjohnson hopes he can depend on the american president for support. donald trump has said that brussels hasn't treated the uk very well over brexit. tomorrow they'll sit down together and discuss a post—brexit trade deal. so far so good. the weather is perfect. the guestlist‘s fantastic, everybody‘s getting along and we'll accomplish a lot this weekend and i look forward to it.

friendly words, but they may not be able to disguise the serious differences between leaders here. vicki young, bbc news, biarritz. we are expecting the formal ceremony and just under half an hour and we will bring you that here on bbc news. the fate of the amazon rainforest is high on the g7‘s agenda. late last night — in the face of growing international pressure — the president of brazil, jair bolsonaro, ordered the country's armed forces to help tackle them. the fires are scattered widely across the amazon, most notably in the north of brazil. andy moore has the story. there have been angry protests outside brazilian embassies across south america. in mexico city... in santiago in chile... and in colombia, where indigenous people were among the demonstrators.

translation: i feelvery sad because the earth is our mother and what is happening in brazil, the president of brazil needs to stop the fires. we live from the earth because she is the one who gives us food. at the g7 summit, there was an offer of european financial help to fight the fires. the burning amazon rainforest has become another depressing sign of our times. and mr tusk warned a trade treaty with south american countries was at risk. it is hard to imagine a harmonious process of ratification by the european countries as long as the brazilian government allows for the destruction of the green lungs of planet earth. the pressure from europe and the protesters has persuaded the brazilian president to change course. in a televised address last night he said he would send in the troops to help fight the fires and crack

down on illegal deforestation. translation: all the countries have expressed solidarity with brazil. they have offered to help tackle the wildfires and have also offered to take brazil's position to the g7 meeting. wildfires can happen anywhere and they should not be used as a pretext for international sanctions. more than 700 new fires have started in brazil this week alone. has mr bolsonaro done enough to persuade the international community he is taking the problem seriously? andy moore, bbc news. a 17—year—old girl has died at leeds festival in what is a suspected drug overdose. west yorkshire police were called to the bramham park site following a report that the girl, who is from the 0ldham area of greater manchester, died shortly after 3.a0am this morning. the force have been told she took a combination of drugs. a 17—year—old boy who is also from the 0ldham area has been

arrested on suspicion of supplying controlled drugs. the governrment has announced that a british warship will be sent to the middle—east. hms defender willjoin the royal navy's efforts to ensure the safe passage of shipping through the straight of hormuz. defence secretary ben wallace said: "the uk stands by to protect freedom of navigation whenever is it tested." british airways is facing anger from thousands of passengers who've received emails to say their flights next month have been cancelled — because of strikes by pilots over pay. the walkouts are planned for the 9th, 10th and 27th of september. our business correspondent katy austin reports. josie spent time and thousands of pounds planning a september trip to florida, catering to the needs of her disabled mother. then last night an e—mail saying their flight was cancelled. we don't know whether it's the outbound flight or the inbound flight, as well. we've called british airways 67 times

since 6am. we got through once after a 45 minute wait on hold. british airways says all affected customers will be offered a refund or the option of rebooking another day. some flights on the day before or days just after strike dates are also being cancelled. the airline says that is down to the knock—on effect disruption has on its complexed operations. but some of the thousands who received cancellation messages overnight expressed confusion and frustration on social media that they had been unable to rebook online or get through on the phone. in a statement, british airways said... after the balpa union rejected a pay proposal and said it was frustrated with the way the business was being run, ba is facing its first ever pilot strikes.

the airline says they are unjustifiable and will destroy the travel plans of tens of thousands of passengers. today they are noticing disruption weeks before a walk out has even begun. katy austin, bbc news. emma bennett said she's been unable to get hold of the company since they cancelled her honeymoon flight to dubai last night. so we received an e—mail last night at 9pm, saying the flight has been cancelled. we have been trying to get hold of them since and no reply, been trying to get hold of them through social media, their website, their phone lines, and nothing. and i'm guessing that is not adding to the experience here, the frustration of not being able to go, and any frustration of just not knowing. exactly, it is very poor customer service, it has up all of our time. we are constantly on the phone, checking e—mails, doing anything we can. we have booked hotels separately

which have been paid for, so we are trying to sort that out, very stressful. do you have any indication whether you will get a honeymoon at all? probably not. we are due to leave in two weeks, so i can't see it happening, no. honeymoons, just like weddings, are not exactly cheap. no, we have been saving for 18 months, we were looking forward to it, put time off work, we are devastated. what would be a message to british airways? to reply to their customers, to give us an indication as to what we can do, just anything, just help us, do not leave us stranded. the headlines on bbc news... prince andrew has said he did not "see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort" that subsequently led to the arrest and conviction of disgraced financierjeffrey

epstein. borisjohnson has been warned against forever being known as "mister no—deal" over brexit. donald tusk also said the eu will not co—operate with leaving europe without an agreement. the prime minister has said he will urge president trump at the g7 summit not to escalate a trade war with china. police have used tear gas to try and disperse anti—government protesters in hong kong. officers are also said to have charged at demonstrators with batons outside a police station. despite authorities closing four subway stations around kwun tong, thousands of people have gathered there, calling for democratic change. the bbc‘s stephen mcdonell is there. the riot police are coming through now, coming in from several

directions and telling people to kill her out of the way. telling people to get out of the way. not running, but certainly striding in with great intent. and protesters seem to have cleared out. we are also being moved along. look out, joey, look out, joey! some sort of... material which was thrown at police, they have responded with tear gas. and they are firing their own non—lethal rounds back at the protesters. who have raced off in the other direction. time for our masks now. the principal standoff here in hong kong has come to an end as these right police have moved in, forcing...

activists to push back. activists who have been throwing molotov cocktails at them. and other projectiles. we can see some of these activists. back here, these are the... more radicalised youths. many in the pro—democracy camp have tried to keep this week and peaceful. but it has not worked out that way. earlier on, this was a peaceful march. but then, the more radicalised camp... descended on the police station. started building barricades. and they say the reason for this is that the government here has come no closer to adhering to any of their demands. a worker at britain's consulate in hong kong — who was detained by the chinese authorities — has been released. simon cheng went missing

on the 8th of august while on his way back to hong kong from mainland china. police there say he confessed to carrying out illegal activity but did not say what he had been accused of. a 16—year—old girl and a 21 year old man died in a car crash in the early hours of this morning in essex. two teenage girls are also in a critical condition. a man was arrested in loughton. leigh milner reports from the scene. well, this is golding hill and as you can see behind me is a long stretch of road which runs through epping forest, and if you just look over my right hand shoulder you can see where the silver bmw m3 collided into a tree just after two o'clock this morning. a 16—year—old girl at a 21—year—old man died at the scene and two girls, aged 16 and 17 are currently in hospital with life—threatening injuries. earlier today, i spoke to counsellor michael

stabbings who gave me his reaction. i'm very sad to buy very sad the young people had to lose their lives and you don't know what happened at the time or what went on. what caused it. have you seen things like this happen before on this road? yes, many times i've driven down here in cars in the forest where they have missed their turns and come off the road for whatever reason. it is a road that has to be taken cautiously. a21-year-old from left and has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. he's currently in hospital with minor injuries. the english football league has agreed to work with bury football club and a potential new buyer over the bank holiday weekend to secure the club's future in league one. the efl has extended its deadline about the viability of the club to next tuesday.

lots of anxious fans here this afternoon, they have decided to meet on what would have been their match against tranmere this afternoon, but of course, they haven't played a game in the season, due to being stopped by the efl. the efl gave them until midnight last night to prove their finances. two hours before that, they announced they were selling the club to c&n sporting risk, and this afternoon, the efl have told them they have until tuesday at five o'clock to finalise that deal. just to tell you more about the buyers, they are head by henry newman and rory campbell. rory campbell is the son of the former labour spin doctor, alastair campbell. they specialise in football and data analysis, and say they are looking at the club's finances very closely. the efl have said, though, this afternoon, that because of the integrity of the game, they can't afford to postpone any more matches, and that no one wants to see a club

lose its place in the league. it is unclear, though, that if the sale can go ahead in four days, whether the club would be ready to play again, which potentially, could be next saturday. i have been speaking to bury forever, the supporters group, they say there is uncertainty over the players, the staff haven't been paid, the ground isn't ready, i don't needs cleaning. so today's gathering, they were unsure what it would be, whether it would be a party, a wake, at the moment, it is a show of support that they will give them all the help they can to get players back on the pitch, ready for next saturday. chief constables in england, wales and scotland will hold an emergency meeting next month after an alarming rise in violence against the police. in an unprecedented move, the national police chiefs' council has called the crisis summit after pc andrew harper was killed during a spate of attacks on officers. richard lister reports.

blows whistle a policeman's whistle marked the start of a minute's silence for pc andrew harper, murdered in the line of duty. around the country, police forces paused to reflect on a colleague lost. pc harper was the first policeman attacked and killed in the uk since 2017, but assaults on officers are on the rise. the latest figures show that in the year to march, there were almost 31,000 attacks on police officers — that's up almost a fifth on the year before with at least 28 attacks on officers every day. martin hewitt, the chair of the national police chiefs' council, says he'll convene a meeting of chief constables next month to see if there is anything more they can do to improve police safety. writing in the daily express, he said:

in pc harper's home town of wallingford, these ribbons acknowledge the thin blue line working to keep us safe, but his death underlined the urgency to ensure police officers are kept safe, too. richard lister, bbc news. few places have experienced the effects of climate change as vividly as the arctic. in finnmark, at the northernmost tip of norway, the warmer temperatures pose a challenge for indigenous saa—mi reindeer herders. but one solution — may make things even worse as our correspondent james cook has been finding out. a samie chief at the top of the world. neil herds reindeer like his ancestors before him. but now, the chief and his daughter are worried about the future, a copper mine which they say will disrupt their animals and damage the environment.

translation: this is life changing. if this mind becomes a reality, that makes the chance of survival impossible. both economically and mentally. at my age, we can manage somehow, but the young, they are in a dark, dark time. but exploration is already under way. the norwegian government has approved the mine, and the minister in charge of the size of the need for copper outweighs the disruption it will bring. it's true that the arctic is beautiful. but for us, for norwegians, it's also a place where we actually live. and if the world doesn't have more copper, we won't be able to build more windmills. we want to be able to have the huge shift to electrical cars for example that we need. the government says marine life here will be protected by strict environmental standards.

this is only a half—size they grow up to be. but the fishermen in the fjord, where the mines debris will be dumped, those assurances do not hold water. if they start mining, we cannot eat the crab, if we can catch up. i think all the clap will die in this area. there was a mine here once before, but that was many years ago, and it to divided opinion. this time, the boss argues that his company will revitalise an area that's been struggling economically. we estimate that the mining itself, with people working every day on—site, so contractors and us, will be 150 employees, and then there will be additional employees in society. teachers, kindergarten, etc. but for the samie reindeer herders, that does not sound like a future full of promise.

it's like, ijust... they are just taking more and more land. it's mining, it's power lines, it's wind power. we are so attached to lands and nature, and when you just cut that contact, what's left? the fight for this land and this fjord may be a taste of what's to come for all of us, as the world realises that shifting to new technology to tackle climate change does come with a cost. james cook, bbc news, norway. now, let's have a look at the raf display team flying over new york city. the red arrows have joined their us counterparts in a historic flight down new york's hudson river and around the statue of liberty. it was the first time the combination ofjets had been brought together in such a way.

the team, based at raf scampton, near lincoln, are on a tour of north america to showcase the "the strength of the relationship between the two countries and their armed forces. weather in a moment — but just to let you know that we are due to have sportsday with 0lly foster just after half past — but we also have the g7 live event , the official welcoming to the summit due to take place at half past six as well. we will be trying to bring you those events that will be emmanuel macron hosting and formally welcoming others in the south of france. we see the arrival of donald trump, boris johnson and france. we see the arrival of donald trump, borisjohnson and they will be formally welcomed by emmanuel

macron, that is the official welcome there. in emmanuel macron trying to build a sense of unity and come up with solutions to some of the problems including the fires in the amazon and economic equality. we know these events are fractious, divisions already and the event ended with donald trump leaving early and not much decision—making being made to this time and even though he will welcome the spirit of optimism and hope welcomed a formal declaration and has not even made plans for all of this to happen at all. and you can see the sun is shining and the sky is blue and a beautiful setting there in the south of france to welcome the world leaders, and we will see exactly what progress they can make of the

next couple of days we will bring you the opening ceremony and those opening momentsjust after you the opening ceremony and those opening moments just after half past six. nice weather in the south of france, but here is chris fox. warm and sunny day with a cloud around in the skies. you can see the extent of the sunshine here, and that seems to be repeated across much of the uk. little bit of patchy cloud works in to put coastal parts of southwest england and still scope for a few showers working into these scottish islands, but after warm day those temperatures overnight, looking at temperatures around 11 o'clock until around 18 to 21 degrees for a number of places. most temperatures will drop a little but the same sunny weather on the cards, and againa the same sunny weather on the cards, and again a little bit of missed and low cloud at times and running on the coastal areas of the southwest

we re the coastal areas of the southwest were otherwise dry company of sunshine for most of us even other, the top temperature 27 in edinburgh and up to 32 towards london and southeast england.